Series Preview: Yankees (6-7) @ White Sox (8-4)

Mark Rubin

04/19/2004

The Yankees find themselves under .500 and in third place after the over-hyped, under-exciting Boston series. Next they face a Chicago White Sox team that has won five of their last six. If the Yankees think that life is going to get easier after Boston, they may not be entirely correct.

One thing is for certain, this Yankee team isn't playing as well as they
should be. The pitching (except for Kevin Brown) has been sub-par, and the
hitting hasn't come around like the fantasy team it should be. A-Rod is
hitting .160 and has just one hit in his last four games. Gary Sheffield
is hitting .255, Jason Giambi is hitting .229, Derek Jeter is hitting .241 and
the list goes on from there. Going into game four with Boston, the Yankees
were 19th in the majors in runs scored, and 28th in batting average at a
terrible .217. Only Toronto (.215) and Montreal (.194) were worse.

Needless to say, the team needs a shakeup, and they need it sooner rather
than later. The pressure going into a series against the White Sox barely
exists in comparison to the series against Boston, but now the pressure to
perform will be setting in. Chicago isn't going to just roll over and help
the Yanks get their heads on straight either. They already split a series
two weeks ago, and the White Sox are looking like the team to beat in the AL
Central these days (though the Twins are right there too.)

I'm not going to go right off and call this a make-or-break series, because
it's still April, but the downward spiral needs to stop before it gets worse,
and the sooner the better. Personally, I think getting Travis Lee off of
the DL is a big step in the right direction. The improved defense becomes
one less thing for Joe Torre and company to worry about. I just hope that
the Yanks are smart enough to let Giambi DH as much as possible (something like
80% of the time would be about right). And hey, let's give Bubba Crosby
some starts in centerfield. The Yanks could use a sparkplug somewhere in
the order.

Yankees Road Record: 3-5
White Sox Home Record: 3-0

Pitching Probables:

Tuesday: Alex Graman (0-2, 0.90 with AAA Columbus) vs. Mark Buehrle (1-0,
3.05)Graman, a southpaw, is getting his first major-league start. He was
off to a hot start with Columbus before Jorge DePaula got hurt and the Yankees
needed an emergency starter. Graman won't be around long, as Jon Lieber is
expected to return soon, but this could be a good opportunity to get his name
out there. Don't expect a brilliant performance, but he's a decent
pitcher.

Buehrle was roughed up by the Royals in his last appearance - five runs and
seven hits in six innings - but he didn't take a loss since the White Sox won
the game eventually. The lefty shut down the Yanks on three hits two weeks
ago and, with the way the Yankees are hitting these days, that could happen
again.

Wednesday: Javier Vazquez (1-1, 3.38) vs. Jon Garland (1-0, 3.68)Vazquez was brilliant in his first start against these same White Sox, but
then he was hit pretty hard against Boston. The young righty wasn't even
pitching too poorly, as he was consistently getting ahead in the count, but
those sluggers are going to hit the tar out of the ball if it's left up in the
zone. Same goes for Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez, who can hit any ball
a mile if it's in their reach.

Garland was uncharacteristically excellent against the Yankee the last time he
faced them on April 9. He allowed just four hits and a run over eight
innings, despite walking seven batters. I doubt he'll be able to get away
with handing out that many free passes again, and those pesky Royals hit him
pretty hard in his last outing. We'll see.

Thursday: Mike Mussina (1-3, 7.52) vs. Dan Wright (0-2, 6.75)Will the real Mike Mussina please stand up? I have him on a few
too many fantasy teams and his underachieving is now bothering me twofold.
This is why I tend to not draft Yankees. When they don't produce, it's
twice as exasperating. Mussina needs to pick up his game at some point
this year, right? If he gets slapped around again, I say we raid Yankee
headquarters and force Moose to take a physical. He wasn't really terrible
against Boston, but he seemed to lose control over all of his pitches.
Scary thought, that.

Wright has been underwhelming so far this year, striking out just two batters
total and not lasting past the fifth inning in either of his first two
starts. The Yankees beat him on April 11, and he fell to the Devil Rays a
few days ago. Let's just be thankful the Yanks don't have to face Esteban
Loaiza this time around.

Predictions and Prognostications:Graman loses to Buehrle, Vazquez takes care of business as the Yankees wake
up and pound Garland, Mike Mussina turns in another mediocre performance, but the
Yankee offense grants him a victory anyway as Wright falls. Do I sound
positive enough for you? That's what I was going for. Really though,
the Yankee offense has to step it up now, and Garland and Wright are the perfect
patsies for a little home run derby.

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